Joan and the Art of Making It Personal
Some people have a knack for making things feel special.
For 45 years, Joan did that as a nurse. Today, she does it with thread.
Joan is the talented woman behind much of the custom embroidery and monogramming you’ll find at Clever Girl—from our Italian herringbone throws and baby gifts to towels embroidered with everything from elegant initials to dogs, pumpkins and martini glasses.
But embroidery wasn’t always the plan.
A Second Act
Joan spent 45 years in nursing, including serving as Dialysis Manager at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago. Some of her warmest memories are of the children she cared for and the colleagues she still affectionately calls “my team.” She misses the camaraderie and shared purpose of people working together to make things better.
After retirement, Joan had time to explore a creative interest that had been developing for years. Her grandmother sewed, and Joan began experimenting with embroidery herself, initially making things for her grandchildren, family and friends. With encouragement from her husband, Jim, she graduated to bigger and more sophisticated equipment.
What started as a creative pastime became an entirely new chapter.
Along the way, Joan developed a philosophy that seems equally useful in a hospital and an embroidery workshop:
Solve the problem.
A Little Serendipity
Our own relationship with Joan began in the most Clever Girl sort of way: by chance.
She came into the store one day, we started talking, and one conversation led to another. Before long, we were dreaming up projects together.
One particularly memorable project involved creating an embroidered version of our own Western Springs Water Tower.
Getting it just right required several rounds of tweaking and refining. Joan kept at it until suddenly the familiar tower looked exactly as it should.
“Joan, you nailed it.”
And she had.
That willingness to keep adjusting something until it feels exactly right is a big part of what makes Joan’s work so good.
It’s All in the Details
There is considerably more happening inside an embroidered design than most of us realize. A particularly detailed piece can contain nearly 20,000 individual stitches.
Thread colors are selected, the design is sized and positioned, the fabric is prepared and the machine carefully set up. Then comes making everything behave as planned.
That’s where “solve the problem” comes in handy.
Joan’s work ranges from the beautifully traditional—a perfectly scaled initial on a baby blanket or classic monogram on an Italian herringbone throw—to the wonderfully playful: little dogs, pumpkins, cocktail glasses, seasonal motifs and, of course, our Water Tower.
When we asked Joan to choose a favorite, she couldn’t.
She loves all of it.
Something Made Especially for You
Perhaps that’s why we continue to love monograms.
We live in a world where almost anything can arrive at our door tomorrow. Personalization slows things down just enough to say:
I chose this for you.
A beautiful Italian herringbone throw becomes your throw. A baby blanket becomes a keepsake. An embroidered towel becomes a little gift chosen for one particular person.
Nursing and embroidery may seem like very different careers, but both require patience, attention to detail, problem-solving and, above all, caring about people.
Joan may have retired from the hospital and “her team,” but taking care with the little things seems to be a habit that followed her home.
The Clever Girl Questionnaire
Of course, we couldn’t let Joan escape without answering a few questions from The Clever Girl Questionnaire.
Coffee or tea?
Coffee.
One thing you never leave home without?
Her phone.
Favorite small luxury?
Peanut M&M’s---a small treat...
What’s on your bedside table?
Embroidery books, gardening magazines and her Kindle.
Your idea of a perfect meal?
Cooking with her husband and family.
What are you watching lately?
Cooking shows. Ina Garten is a favorite.
What makes a guest feel welcome?
Preparing something homemade.
And a Few Quick Choices…
Sweet or salty? Sweet.
Morning or night? Morning.
Summer or winter? Summer.
Silver or gold? Gold.
Handwritten note or text? Handwritten note.
Dinner out or dinner at home? Dinner at home.
City or country? City.
Classic or colorful? Colorful.
Initials or a full monogram? Initials.
Make It Personal
Interested in having something personalized? We’d be delighted to help you choose the piece, monogram, thread color and placement at Clever Girl.
Our monogram offerings include our much-loved Italian herringbone throws, baby gifts and an ever-changing assortment of towels and other pieces waiting for a little something extra.
Sometimes the best gifts are the ones that could only belong to one person.
Clever Girl
907 Burlington Avenue
Western Springs, Illinois
708-246-5050